Beauty Hack: Pixiwoo Bloggers Give Us the Secret to Contouring, Cat-Eyes and More

 

Sister-bloggers Sam and Nic Chapman of UK beauty blog Pixiwoo touched down in Toronto last Friday to give us tips on how to create the classic beauty looks we want to perfect the most: the red lip, the full brow and the smoky eye. The makeup mavens’ videos have been going viral since they launched their YouTube channel in 2008. They have teamed up with globally successful brand  Real Techniques  to create several brush collections and a new contouring brush set to launch in Spring 2015.

Contouring

“What we want to do is help women create a contoured look that’s easy to create at home,” says Sam. “We want them to get the celebrity look, without the at-home makeup artist and the time spent to create it—something you can do yourself every day.” Nic adds, “Good contouring helps show off the beautiful shape of a woman’s face. Just like our bodies, women’s faces are curved and by contouring these features you can accentuate the cheekbones, the jawline, the eye.” 

Along with tips on how to make your face a little more angular, Sam and Nic dish on fuller lips and brows and the coveted cat-eye.

The Full Brow

“If you’re our age you’ve plucked all of your brows away when you were younger. The bold, filled-in brow makes you face look more structured,” says Nic. Try using a lighter shade of pencil first to outline your brow and fill in any sparse areas with a darker powder after that. It will give your brows a naturally fuller look instead of a false, painted-on look.

The Red Lip

“The red lip is amazing because red is a brilliant color for making your lips look much fuller, if you can get the right red for your skintone, it’s an absolutely phenomenal way to make your lips stand out,” says Sam. “It’s also a great way to make your teeth look lovely and white.”

The trick to applying is to use a lip pencil to fill in your lips before you apply your lipcolor (stops the color from bleeding outward) and to use a lip brush to apply thin layers of lipstick instead of one thick swipe of the lipstick itself. That way it will last longer.

For darker skintones, “try deeper reds like MAC’s New York Apple, Dubonnet, and Media—I love rich reds,” says Sam. “Every lady should have a red lipstick in their makeup arsenal for that time when they need to look and feel fabulous.” For those with fair complexions, “try MAC’s Russian Red because it’s slightly bluer,” says Nic. “Ruby Woo is another great one, it’s matte and has a really rich texture and color.”

The Cat-Eye

“It frames your eyes, it makes your lashes look thicker,” says Nic. The Pixiwoo sisters suggest you try the cat-eye flick even if you’re shy about your lining skills. For this look, it’s all in the wrist. No need to stretch your eye lid to perfect it either. Simply use the side of your thin line brush and sweep on a thin coat of eyeliner from the inner corner of the eye to the outer corner of the eyelid. To get that coveted flick, simply flip your hand over and apply a subtle curve in the opposite direction. Voila. “Practice makes perfect. Use a liner brush or angled brush to help you glide on a cream liner.”

So there you have it, three top beauty looks to see you through every day and any event now until basically the end of time.